Page 48 of Nick
Vincent and Gregory strode confidently toward their vehicles, unaware of the eyes that tracked their every move.They drove away, leaving behind only one dark sedan.
“Okay,” Ryker said.“We move now.”
“Sarah is our priority,” Nick added through clenched teeth.“We get her out safe.Then we settle scores.”
Malcolm nodded, his expression grim.Anders’s muscles tensed, ready to spring into action.Larissa’s eyes were hard, reflecting the resolve that bound them all.Conall and Quinton exchanged a glance.
Nick’s muscles tensed as he followed Ryker and Bronx, ducking into the mine.The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and something metallic that set his senses on edge.
“The torture room’s not far,” Malcolm growled under his breath.
“Lead the way,” Nick said.
Anders and Larissa followed, their expressions grim, while Conall and Quinton brought up the rear.
When they arrived at the chamber, the sight that greeted them churned Nick’s stomach.Silver chains dangled from the ceiling like grotesque ornaments, and an array of cruel instruments lay scattered across a bloodstained table.An overturned chair lay on the ground, another pile of chains beside it.But it was the coppery tang of fresh blood that hit him hardest.
“Damn it,” Nick cursed.“She’s not here.”
“Look at all this,” Anders muttered, picking up a rusted blade and examining it with disgust before tossing it back onto the table.
“Vincent’s been busy,” Larissa spat.She kicked the overturned chair aside, her every movement radiating anger.
Nick’s gaze swept the room, taking in every splatter and smear on the stone floor.
“Where is she?”Conall murmured.
“Spread out,” Ryker commanded, his tone leaving no room for discussion.“Search for any clue.We need to find her—now.”
The rebels moved with renewed purpose, scouring the room for any shred of evidence that might lead them to Sarah.Ryker sniffed along the wall, his nostrils flaring as he sought out her scent among the myriad of odors that filled the room.
“Nothing over here,” Quinton said after a moment, shaking his head in frustration.“It’s like she vanished into thin air.”
“Shifter or not, nobody vanishes without a trace,” Nick snapped, his impatience boiling over.“Keep looking.”Nick’s nostrils flared as he paced the perimeter of the room, his senses on high alert.The metallic tang of blood hung heavy in the air.His eyes narrowed, and he scanned the floor until he caught a sight that sent a surge of adrenaline through his veins—a trail of blood, fresh and dark against the stone.
“Over here,” he called out as his gaze followed the droplets spattered across the ground.The others converged on him, their expressions tight.
“Sarah’s,” Nick confirmed before anyone could ask, recognizing the unique scent that had haunted him ever since he’d left Sunburst—a scent that now held pain and fear.
The trail was too distinct, too easy to track.It meant she was badly hurt—and even the resilience of a shifter had its limits.
He took off at a brisk pace, following the sanguine path that twisted deeper into the mine’s corridors.The others fell in step behind him, ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice.
The blood trail led them through a narrow passage that opened into a wider cavern.Nick hesitated for only a second before plunging forward, checking for any sign of movement, any hint of life.
“She can’t have gone far.Not with this much blood lost.”Larissa’s voice was strained.
“Then we’ll find her faster.”Nick refused to imagine Sarah succumbing to her wounds alone in the dark.And yet every drop of blood felt like an accusation, a reminder of how he’d walked away from Sarah once before.
He wouldn’t—couldn’t—lose her.Not when every fiber of his being screamed that she was his true mate—that she was the missing piece of his soul.
“She’s here somewhere,” he said.“And we’re bringing her home.”
Then he shifted into his wolf and began racing through the tunnels, still following the trail of blood he hoped would lead him to Sarah.
Chapter 21
SARAH’S PANTING BREATHS ECHOEDoff the cold, unforgiving walls of the mine tunnels.The passages beneath Sunburst twisted and turned like a serpent, its fangs sinking into her with every step she took in the wrong direction.
